Hi!!! Today's story is about Birbal, a minister in the court of Akbar, the Mughal Emperor of India and how he finds the ten greatest fools in the city. Let's go…
"As the Emperor, I only meet wise and learned men, Birbal. I never meet a fool. Today, I ask you to show me the ten greatest fools in the city!" Asked Akbar from his gleaming throne. Birbal bowed to the Sultan and replied, "Jahanpanah, this is very strange! What an errand!!!" Akbar smiled.
The Mughal Emperor was a kind and fair man. He ruled the Mughal Sultanate very well, with care. Birbal was his right-hand-man. When the Sultan couldn't solve a dispute in court or a question given to him by other kings, he would ask Birbal to solve it. Birbal would answer it in seconds!! All of the courtiers would be astonished!! Even the Sultan would be astounded!!! But, this request by the Sultan was sure to stump Birbal. Akbar often asked Birbal to do the strangest of things, but this one beat them all. To find the ten most foolish men in the city wasn't an easy task. Birbal just said, " I shall do as you command, Jahanpanah." Akbar gave Bribal a month to find the ten men. But, Birbal said, "It shouldn't be too long. I might need less than what you offer me. I may not need that much time at all!" So, Birbal set off to find the ten greatest fools in the city.
As the scorching sun rose high to overlook the frolicking earth, Birbal started to ride his royal horse around the city. Though he rode around half of the whole city, it didn't take Birbal long to find his first specimen. In a field near the city borders, he came across the strangest sight he had ever seen. A man was riding on his mule, holding a heavy bundle of wood on his head!! It was very peculiar. He could've just put it on the mule's back!! Birbal rode his horse to the slowly prodding mule. He asked the man curiously, "Why do carry that bundle on your head? Instead, you could put it behind you!" The man turned and looked at Birbal, sulking. He replied, "My donkey is old and feeble, Huzur. This wood, I fear, will be too heavy for him. He might just fall dead!!! So, I'm carrying it for him," Birbal thought to himself, "Why, I've never even dreamt of such a fool!!" Birbal rode next to the man's donkey, "Come with me, my friend, and you'll never have to carry another bundle in your life." The man dropped the wooden bundle on the grassy floor and rode off with Birbal. Thus, Birbal found his first fool.
As the two rode on, talking about the nature around then, they saw a man lying on his back, with his arms hoisted in the air. Birbal was aghast!! He thought the poor man had a stroke!!! Birbal jumped off his horse and ran to help the man. As Birbal approached him and tried to lift him up, the man shouted, "No!!! Please, Huzur!!! Don't touch my hands!!" Birbal stepped back, "I'm sorry! Do they hurt?" Birbal sat next to him. The man said, "Not at all!!! My wife had asked me to buy a pot as big as this. I was tired from walking a long distance from my house, so I laid down here. If I move my hands, I'll get the wrong size and my wife will give me a sound thrashing!!" Birbal chuckled. He pondered, "God!! I never knew that our city possessed such a fool!!" Birbal told the man to drop his arms. The poor man didn't want to. But, Birbal made him an offer that he couldn't refuse (Make me an offer I can't refuse… HaHa!!!). "If you drop your arms and come with me, I shall buy you a glorious set of pots and pans, from the smallest size to the largest!!!" The man immediately jumped up and walked back to Birbal's horse with him. Thus, Birbal found his second fool.
As Birbal turned to mount his horse, THAPAKKKK!!!!!! A priest ran and banged into Birbal!!! He fell onto the muddy ground and shouted, "What's the matter with you?! Have you lost your brains?!" The priest stood up along with Birbal and narrated, "A thousand pardons, Huzur! I had just called the evening prayers from the mosque…" Birbal brushed the mud off his robes, "Ha… Continue, Maulvi…" The priest continued to narrate his story, "… So, I finished calling the evening prayers and wanted to see how far my voice would carry. I was running after it, but now you've spoilt it all!" Birbal snickered at the thought of chasing one's voice. "Maulvi, come with me and I shall give you two gold mohurs." The priest was shocked!!! He asked the two other dum-dums if this was true. They said, "Maulvi, all of it is true!!! He has promised us pots and freedom from work!!! Imagine what we could do!!!!!" Jumping with joy, the priest skipped along with Birbal all the way to his mansion. Thus, Birbal found his third fool.
Birbal instructed the fools to stay in a room. In tandem, they all replied, " Surely, Huzur!!" Birbal didn't trust the madmen. So, he ran out of the room with the key. He locked the door and shouted to them," If you get out, I'll tell the Sultan to give you a hundred lashes!!!! @#!!ª¡¢$@!!!!" (That was covered-up bad stuff!!!). Birbal strolled into his gardens, and lo!! There were two men, fighting like dogs!!! Birbal ran to stop the fight, cursing his luck, "God!! What are these men up to?!" He saw his gardener and his cook, fighting madly. Birbal dashed to them and stood in between the fight. He thrust his hands in front of them and shouted, "Stop, my good men!!!!! Why are you quarrelling?!?!" The cook and the gardener stopped punching each other. The cook told Birbal, "Huzur, this man is threatening to set his tiger on my buffalo!!!" and pointed at the gardener. Birbal slapped his forehead, "But I see neither tiger nor buffalo!!!" The gardener butted in, "You will if Allah comes before us and gives us a boon each!!" Birbal tried to say something, but the cook stopped him, "Did you hear that?! He says that if I ask Allah for a buffalo, he will ask for a tiger to eat up my buffalo!!" Both of them, the gardener and the cook resumed fighting and made Birbal stagger back. Birbal clutched his head, "What's happening to me? I don't feel good!" Suddenly, an old Brahmin walked up to Birbal with a huge pot of oil on his head, "Oh Huzur!!! HaHa!! You are a fool to take these fools seriously!! If not, let my bones be broken and my blood run like this oil!!!" The Brahmin chucked the earthen pot of oil in the ground and broke it. Suddenly, his face turned from a happy one into a sad one, "Alas!! I have wasted my oil!!!" Birbal's face cheered up. Without a word, he marched the three men back to his mansion and left them with the other three fellows. Thus, Birbal found his fourth, fifth and sixth idiots!!!
It was almost midnight and the day's experiences had proved too much for him. He wiped the dripping sweat off his forehead, "I'd better go out and get some fresh air. I'll look for more dum-dums tomorrow."
A few hours later, a refreshed Birbal walked out on the moonlit streets, under the moonlit sky. He thought, "Wah!! What a beautiful moon!! Even a thousand lamps would not light up the street like it does," he walked on, praising the moon with his poetic words.
Soon, as he neared his mansion, he saw a man groping about the ground, "What are you looking for, my man?". The man, who looked very poor and needy, replied, "I have lost my ring, Huzur." Birbal questioned him, "Did you drop it here?" The poor man said, "No, Huzur. I had dropped it near that tree," and pointed to a distant tree, with huge branches and long leaves, "But, it is dark there. Because it is lighter here, I am looking for my ring here!" Birbal grit his teeth. He'd had enough foolishness for today. But, he still said, "Come with me and I'll buy you a new ring, " The poor man jumped and ran about singing praises of Birbal.
As they walked back to the mansion, the poor man told Birbal, "Huzur, another man is looking for something! Let us go help him," Birbal and the poor man ran to the other guy, who was fumbling around a giant mound of sand! The poor man called out to Birbal, "Huzur! Perhaps you may help me!!" Birbal walked to the sand-pile, where the man was waiting. The man said, "I hid my ring in this mound of sand for safe-keeping, but I can't find it!!" Birbal asked him patiently, "You must have marked the spot, I suppose," the man replied, "Why naturally, Huzur!! I am not such a fool! There was a cloud above the pile when I hid it, but now the treacherous cloud has gone!! And so has my ring!!!!" Birbal clenched his fists, but slowly eased them. He put his hand on the man's shoulder, "Never mind. Come with me, and I shall replace your ring," The man jumped about, celebrating his good luck. Thus, Birbal found his seventh and eight dumbos!!
The next day, Birbal went into the court with the fools, but realised that he only had eight!! He thought to himself, "Well, I have only eight. For the ninth and tenth… Maybe…"
Akbar asked Birbal, "You are back so soon, Birbal!!! How?!" Birbal bowed before his Sultan, "It's not surprising, Jahanpanah! Everyone knows that fools are easier found than wise men!" So, Birbal told the Sultan and all of the courtiers about his encounter with each madman. Akbar was confused! He had asked for ten!!! "Birbal!! I distinctly remember asking you to present ten fools, not eight!!" Birbal just said, "Pardon me, Jahanpanah, but there are ten! These eight and, pardon me for saying this, the two of us!!!" Akbar was enraged!!!!!!! "WHAT?!?!" Birbal remained calm, "Yes, Jahanpanah. We have been the biggest fools of all! You for sending me on such an errand and I for obeying you!" The whole court burst out laughing, but the loudest was of Emperor Akbar's, who was renowned for his fine sense of humour. HAHAHA!!!!!
Word Bank:
Jahanpanah: Your Majesty
Huzur: Sir
Mohur: coin
Maulvi: Priest
Allah: God
Thanks for reading Birbal and the Ten Greatest Fools!! Please follow by typing your email in the box above the followers and click the blue button to receive emails about my posts!!!! Happy Reading!!!!
"As the Emperor, I only meet wise and learned men, Birbal. I never meet a fool. Today, I ask you to show me the ten greatest fools in the city!" Asked Akbar from his gleaming throne. Birbal bowed to the Sultan and replied, "Jahanpanah, this is very strange! What an errand!!!" Akbar smiled.
The Mughal Emperor was a kind and fair man. He ruled the Mughal Sultanate very well, with care. Birbal was his right-hand-man. When the Sultan couldn't solve a dispute in court or a question given to him by other kings, he would ask Birbal to solve it. Birbal would answer it in seconds!! All of the courtiers would be astonished!! Even the Sultan would be astounded!!! But, this request by the Sultan was sure to stump Birbal. Akbar often asked Birbal to do the strangest of things, but this one beat them all. To find the ten most foolish men in the city wasn't an easy task. Birbal just said, " I shall do as you command, Jahanpanah." Akbar gave Bribal a month to find the ten men. But, Birbal said, "It shouldn't be too long. I might need less than what you offer me. I may not need that much time at all!" So, Birbal set off to find the ten greatest fools in the city.
As the scorching sun rose high to overlook the frolicking earth, Birbal started to ride his royal horse around the city. Though he rode around half of the whole city, it didn't take Birbal long to find his first specimen. In a field near the city borders, he came across the strangest sight he had ever seen. A man was riding on his mule, holding a heavy bundle of wood on his head!! It was very peculiar. He could've just put it on the mule's back!! Birbal rode his horse to the slowly prodding mule. He asked the man curiously, "Why do carry that bundle on your head? Instead, you could put it behind you!" The man turned and looked at Birbal, sulking. He replied, "My donkey is old and feeble, Huzur. This wood, I fear, will be too heavy for him. He might just fall dead!!! So, I'm carrying it for him," Birbal thought to himself, "Why, I've never even dreamt of such a fool!!" Birbal rode next to the man's donkey, "Come with me, my friend, and you'll never have to carry another bundle in your life." The man dropped the wooden bundle on the grassy floor and rode off with Birbal. Thus, Birbal found his first fool.
As the two rode on, talking about the nature around then, they saw a man lying on his back, with his arms hoisted in the air. Birbal was aghast!! He thought the poor man had a stroke!!! Birbal jumped off his horse and ran to help the man. As Birbal approached him and tried to lift him up, the man shouted, "No!!! Please, Huzur!!! Don't touch my hands!!" Birbal stepped back, "I'm sorry! Do they hurt?" Birbal sat next to him. The man said, "Not at all!!! My wife had asked me to buy a pot as big as this. I was tired from walking a long distance from my house, so I laid down here. If I move my hands, I'll get the wrong size and my wife will give me a sound thrashing!!" Birbal chuckled. He pondered, "God!! I never knew that our city possessed such a fool!!" Birbal told the man to drop his arms. The poor man didn't want to. But, Birbal made him an offer that he couldn't refuse (Make me an offer I can't refuse… HaHa!!!). "If you drop your arms and come with me, I shall buy you a glorious set of pots and pans, from the smallest size to the largest!!!" The man immediately jumped up and walked back to Birbal's horse with him. Thus, Birbal found his second fool.
As Birbal turned to mount his horse, THAPAKKKK!!!!!! A priest ran and banged into Birbal!!! He fell onto the muddy ground and shouted, "What's the matter with you?! Have you lost your brains?!" The priest stood up along with Birbal and narrated, "A thousand pardons, Huzur! I had just called the evening prayers from the mosque…" Birbal brushed the mud off his robes, "Ha… Continue, Maulvi…" The priest continued to narrate his story, "… So, I finished calling the evening prayers and wanted to see how far my voice would carry. I was running after it, but now you've spoilt it all!" Birbal snickered at the thought of chasing one's voice. "Maulvi, come with me and I shall give you two gold mohurs." The priest was shocked!!! He asked the two other dum-dums if this was true. They said, "Maulvi, all of it is true!!! He has promised us pots and freedom from work!!! Imagine what we could do!!!!!" Jumping with joy, the priest skipped along with Birbal all the way to his mansion. Thus, Birbal found his third fool.
Birbal instructed the fools to stay in a room. In tandem, they all replied, " Surely, Huzur!!" Birbal didn't trust the madmen. So, he ran out of the room with the key. He locked the door and shouted to them," If you get out, I'll tell the Sultan to give you a hundred lashes!!!! @#!!ª¡¢$@!!!!" (That was covered-up bad stuff!!!). Birbal strolled into his gardens, and lo!! There were two men, fighting like dogs!!! Birbal ran to stop the fight, cursing his luck, "God!! What are these men up to?!" He saw his gardener and his cook, fighting madly. Birbal dashed to them and stood in between the fight. He thrust his hands in front of them and shouted, "Stop, my good men!!!!! Why are you quarrelling?!?!" The cook and the gardener stopped punching each other. The cook told Birbal, "Huzur, this man is threatening to set his tiger on my buffalo!!!" and pointed at the gardener. Birbal slapped his forehead, "But I see neither tiger nor buffalo!!!" The gardener butted in, "You will if Allah comes before us and gives us a boon each!!" Birbal tried to say something, but the cook stopped him, "Did you hear that?! He says that if I ask Allah for a buffalo, he will ask for a tiger to eat up my buffalo!!" Both of them, the gardener and the cook resumed fighting and made Birbal stagger back. Birbal clutched his head, "What's happening to me? I don't feel good!" Suddenly, an old Brahmin walked up to Birbal with a huge pot of oil on his head, "Oh Huzur!!! HaHa!! You are a fool to take these fools seriously!! If not, let my bones be broken and my blood run like this oil!!!" The Brahmin chucked the earthen pot of oil in the ground and broke it. Suddenly, his face turned from a happy one into a sad one, "Alas!! I have wasted my oil!!!" Birbal's face cheered up. Without a word, he marched the three men back to his mansion and left them with the other three fellows. Thus, Birbal found his fourth, fifth and sixth idiots!!!
It was almost midnight and the day's experiences had proved too much for him. He wiped the dripping sweat off his forehead, "I'd better go out and get some fresh air. I'll look for more dum-dums tomorrow."
A few hours later, a refreshed Birbal walked out on the moonlit streets, under the moonlit sky. He thought, "Wah!! What a beautiful moon!! Even a thousand lamps would not light up the street like it does," he walked on, praising the moon with his poetic words.
Soon, as he neared his mansion, he saw a man groping about the ground, "What are you looking for, my man?". The man, who looked very poor and needy, replied, "I have lost my ring, Huzur." Birbal questioned him, "Did you drop it here?" The poor man said, "No, Huzur. I had dropped it near that tree," and pointed to a distant tree, with huge branches and long leaves, "But, it is dark there. Because it is lighter here, I am looking for my ring here!" Birbal grit his teeth. He'd had enough foolishness for today. But, he still said, "Come with me and I'll buy you a new ring, " The poor man jumped and ran about singing praises of Birbal.
As they walked back to the mansion, the poor man told Birbal, "Huzur, another man is looking for something! Let us go help him," Birbal and the poor man ran to the other guy, who was fumbling around a giant mound of sand! The poor man called out to Birbal, "Huzur! Perhaps you may help me!!" Birbal walked to the sand-pile, where the man was waiting. The man said, "I hid my ring in this mound of sand for safe-keeping, but I can't find it!!" Birbal asked him patiently, "You must have marked the spot, I suppose," the man replied, "Why naturally, Huzur!! I am not such a fool! There was a cloud above the pile when I hid it, but now the treacherous cloud has gone!! And so has my ring!!!!" Birbal clenched his fists, but slowly eased them. He put his hand on the man's shoulder, "Never mind. Come with me, and I shall replace your ring," The man jumped about, celebrating his good luck. Thus, Birbal found his seventh and eight dumbos!!
The next day, Birbal went into the court with the fools, but realised that he only had eight!! He thought to himself, "Well, I have only eight. For the ninth and tenth… Maybe…"
Akbar asked Birbal, "You are back so soon, Birbal!!! How?!" Birbal bowed before his Sultan, "It's not surprising, Jahanpanah! Everyone knows that fools are easier found than wise men!" So, Birbal told the Sultan and all of the courtiers about his encounter with each madman. Akbar was confused! He had asked for ten!!! "Birbal!! I distinctly remember asking you to present ten fools, not eight!!" Birbal just said, "Pardon me, Jahanpanah, but there are ten! These eight and, pardon me for saying this, the two of us!!!" Akbar was enraged!!!!!!! "WHAT?!?!" Birbal remained calm, "Yes, Jahanpanah. We have been the biggest fools of all! You for sending me on such an errand and I for obeying you!" The whole court burst out laughing, but the loudest was of Emperor Akbar's, who was renowned for his fine sense of humour. HAHAHA!!!!!
Word Bank:
Jahanpanah: Your Majesty
Huzur: Sir
Mohur: coin
Maulvi: Priest
Allah: God
Thanks for reading Birbal and the Ten Greatest Fools!! Please follow by typing your email in the box above the followers and click the blue button to receive emails about my posts!!!! Happy Reading!!!!
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